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GTU News

Graduate Theological Union Announces Paul G. Johnson as Chair of the Board of Trustees

BERKELEY, CA – June 27, 2025 – The Graduate Theological Union (GTU) is pleased to announce that Paul G. Johnson has succeeded William D. Glenn as Chair of the GTU Board of Trustees, effective June 1, 2025. Johnson, a retired attorney, has been a valued member of the GTU Board since his recruitment by fellow trustee Linda Dakin-Grimm in 2023. He brings a distinguished background in law, education, and military service, as well as a deep commitment to the GTU’s mission of interreligious dialogue and spiritual engagement. As part of this transition, Johnson has passed the role of Treasurer on to...
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Leadership
GTU Event

The Surjit Singh Lecture and Symposium in Comparative Religion and Theology for 2025

Event Date: 
Tuesday, November 4th 2025, 12:00pm
The Graduate Theological Union (GTU) is pleased to announce that Prof. Norbert Litoing, S.J, of Hekima University College, Nairobi, Kenya, will be presenting the 2025 Surjit Singh Lecture on November 4, 2025, with a response to be provided by Prof. Amir Hussain, Prof. of Islamic Theology at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles. Dr. Litoing is the founding director of the Center for Interfaith Studies in Africa (CISA) at Hekima University College in Nairobi, Kenya. He holds a Master’s degree in Islamic Studies from the University of Birmingham (UK), a Master’s degree in Theology from...
News & EventsGraduate Theological Union
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Essay Competition: Comparative Theology and Peacemaking

Essay Competition: Comparative Theology and Peacemaking All students of the Graduate Theological Union are invited to submit an essay of not more than 2000 words to be considered for a $1000 scholarship award for the best essay in comparative religion or theology addressing some aspect of the role of comparative theology in peacemaking. The Surjit Singh Lecture and Symposium in Comparative Religion and Theology for 2025 will take place on Tuesday, November 4, 2025. It will feature a lecture by Prof. Norbert Litoing, S.J, of Hekima University College, Nairobi, Kenya, and a response by Prof....
Graduate Theological UnionNews & Events
GTU Event
GTU News

Dr. Christopher Ocker Formally Named Dean and Vice President for Academic Affairs

February 18, 2025 – Dr. Christopher Ocker will continue serving as Dean and Vice President for Academic Affairs and John Dillenberger Professor of the History of Christianity, a position he assumed on an interim basis on July 1, 2024. Given his status as a long-standing member of the community with a deep appreciation for the GTU's traditions, Centers, and member schools, Ocker’s leadership is needed at this time of intense challenge and unprecedented opportunity for graduate education in theology and religion. “Dean Ocker is an excellent colleague who is passionate about making the GTU the...
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GTU News

Announcing The 2024 Borsch-Rast Prize Winner, Dr. Julia Watts Belser

Berkeley, CA – December 16, 2024 The Graduate Theological Union (GTU) is proud to announce that Dr. Julia Watts Belser (PhD ’08) has been awarded the eighth annual Borsch-Rast Book Prize and Lectureship for her 2023 publication, Loving Our Own Bones: Disability Wisdom and the Spiritual Subversiveness of Knowing Ourselves Whole (Beacon Press). In this groundbreaking work, Dr. Belser offers a radical rethinking of disability in biblical literature and contemporary culture, challenging political and religious marginalization of disabled people. Through fresh interpretations of sacred texts,...
GTU AlumsNews & Events
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The Robert N. Bellah Lecture on Religion and Public Life

About the Robert N. Bellah Lecture on Religion and Public Life The Bellah Legacy Group partnered with the GTU to create an annual lecture designed to preserve, build on, sustain, and promote awareness of the corpus and legacy of Robert N. Bellah’s work within a contemporary context.
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GTU News

Summer 2025 Interreligious Research Grants | Madrasa-Midrasha Program - Deadline Extended to April 21, 2025

The Walter & Elise Haas Fund has provided funding to the GTU in support of the Madrasa-Midrasha Program, a collaborative interreligious effort cosponsored by the Center for Islamic Studies and the Richard S. Dinner Center for Jewish Studies. We are pleased to announce research grants for GTU students working on interreligious projects related to Judaism and/or Islam. Grants will range from $250 to $500 for individual projects and $500 to $1000 for joint projects, which are strongly encouraged. The following criteria will be applied to determine winning proposals: Student(s) must be in the...
The Richard S. Dinner Center for Jewish Studies (CJS) Madrasa-Midrasha ProgramInterreligious Chaplaincy ProgramNews & Events
Madrasa-MidrashaCJS | The Richard S. Dinner Center for Jewish StudiesCIS | Center for Islamic StudiesWalter and Elise Haas FundMahjabeen Dhala
GTU News

CIS Announces IDCL Student Grant Awards

The Center for Islamic Studies congratulates and is delighted to announce that the following students have received grants for their research as part of the project Muslims in the Bay Area: Leading, Bridging and Belonging, through the Institute for Diversity and Civic Life (IDCL) Grounded Knowledge Project that builds resources and creates gathering spaces for scholars committed to community-based research and public humanities in religious studies.   Nosizwe Breaux-Abdur-Rahman "Islam/Muslims from Senegambia to the Americas"     Jibreel Delgado "The African Roots of Muslim Pan-...
The Center for Islamic Studies (CIS)News & EventsGraduate Theological Union
CIS | Center for Islamic StudiesIDCL Grant
GTU News

Call for Proposals -- Muslims in the Bay Area: Leading, Bridging and Belonging

The Center for Islamic Studies is delighted to invite grant proposals from GTU students whose research focuses on the project themes. Grants will be $500 and should involve a community engagement component. Grantees will present their research at the monthly Islamic Studies @ GTU gathering, or through proposed events, workshops, seminars, or symposia by March 31, 2024. To apply, please submit a proposal of no more than two pages, with an abstract of the proposed research, how it relates to and advances the grant project themes, and proposed activities. Proposals should be submitted by...
The Center for Islamic Studies (CIS)News & EventsGraduate Theological Union
CIS | Center for Islamic Studies
GTU News

CIS Receives Grant from the Institute for Diversity and Civic Life (IDCL) Funded by the Henry Luce Foundation

CIS Receives Grant from the Institute for Diversity and Civic Life (IDCL) The Center for Islamic Studies at the Graduate Theological Union gratefully acknowledges that it has received a one-year grant from the Institute for Diversity and Civic Life (IDCL) made possible by a grant from the Henry Luce Foundation, to support a project entitled Muslims in the Bay Area: Leading, Bridging and Belonging. This grant is part of the larger IDCL’s Grounded Knowledge Project, which builds resources and creates gathering spaces for scholars committed to community-based research and public humanities in...
The Center for Islamic Studies (CIS)News & EventsGraduate Theological Union
CIS | Center for Islamic Studies
GTU News

Remembering GTU Trustee, Dale Walker (1943-2023)

BERKELEY, CA, July 14, 2024—The Graduate Theological Union is deeply saddened to share news of the passing of Dale Walker, a long-time member of the GTU’s Board of Trustees, after an extended battle with cancer. As an esteemed and highly respected trustee, Walker served for over 12 years in a number of capacities, including as Chair of the Finance and Academic Committees; participating as an active member of the Advancement and Executive committees; and an enthusiastic supporter of the GTU’s 5-Year Strategic plan, including its DEI Initiative, the thriving GTUx platform, and other aspects of...
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GTU News

Congratulations to 2023 CIS Graduates

Congratulations to the Class of 2023 CIS Graduates As-salaamu alaikum, greetings of peace. The Center for Islamic Studies is delighted to present the Class of 2023 graduates in Islamic Studies: Dr. May Kosba, PhD dissertation title, The Race Question: Egyptian Intellectualism on the Periphery of the African Diaspora. Currently Postdoctoral Research Associate in the Program in African Studies at Princeton University. Congratulations! Huzaifah Bharucha MA thesis title, Contradictions between Āḥād Ḥadīth and Qiyās within the Ḥanafī Madhhab. Huzaifah will begin the PhD program in fall 2023...
News & EventsGraduate Theological UnionThe Center for Islamic Studies (CIS)
CIS | Center for Islamic Studies
GTU News
GTU News

Summer 2023 Interreligious Research Grants | Madrasa-Midrasha Program

The Walter & Elise Haas Fund has provided funding to the GTU in support of the Madrasa-Midrasha Program, a collaborative interreligious effort cosponsored by the Center for Islamic Studies and the Richard S. Dinner Center for Jewish Studies. We are pleased to announce research grants for GTU students working on interreligious projects related to Judaism and/or Islam. Grants will range from $250 to $500 for individual projects and $500 to $1000 for joint projects, which are strongly encouraged. The following criteria will be applied to determine winning proposals: Student(s) must be in the...
The Center for Islamic Studies (CIS)The Richard S. Dinner Center for Jewish Studies (CJS) Madrasa-Midrasha ProgramInterreligious Chaplaincy ProgramNews & Events
Madrasa-MidrashaCJS | The Richard S. Dinner Center for Jewish StudiesCIS | Center for Islamic StudiesWalter and Elise Haas FundMahjabeen Dhala
GTU News

Dr. David Batstone Named Alum of the Year

BERKELEY, CA – September 13, 2022 – The Graduate Theological Union (GTU) is pleased to announce Dr. David Batstone as the 2022 Alum of the Year. Dr. Batstone began his studies at the GTU in 1985, earning his PhD in 1989. He is the Professor Emeritus of the School of Management at the University of San Francisco (USF) and CEO of Blackstone Technologies, an innovative battery technology company using 3D printing technology to create energy-efficient and sustainable lithium-ion battery cells. Prior to his emeritus appointment at USF’s School of Management, Dr. Batstone served as Professor of...
Life at GTUNews & EventsGTU Alums
GTU News

CIS News - September 2022

CIS News for September 2022 The Center for Islamic Studies extends a warm welcome to all new and returning students, faculty, visiting scholars and staff for the academic year 2022-2023! We are especially grateful and delighted as the GTU celebrates 60 years and the CIS celebrates its 15th year anniversary – congratulations! We look forward to collaborative programs and events this year that highlight the many wonderful achievements of our students, alums, faculty, visiting and research scholars, staff, and our community partnerships. We welcome your suggestions: mhartman@gtu.edu...
The Center for Islamic Studies (CIS)News & EventsGraduate Theological Union
CIS | Center for Islamic StudiesMunir Jiwa
GTU News

GTU Alum Rev. Dr. Carmen Lansdowne Elected 44th United Church of Canada Moderator—First Indigenous Woman to Lead Church

BERKELEY, CA – July 25, 2022 – The Graduate Theological Union (GTU) is pleased to celebrate that GTU alum Rev. Dr. Carmen Lansdowne (PhD, 2016) has been elected the United Church of Canada’s (UCC) 44th Moderator. As Moderator, Rev. Dr. Carmen Lansdowne will serve as the United Church of Canada’s spiritual leader for the next three years.  Born in Alert Bay, British Columbia and a member of the Heiltsuk First Nation, the Rev. Dr. Lansdowne is only the second Indigenous person to be elected the United Church of Canada’s Moderator, and the first Indigenous woman. She is committed to an...
Life at GTUNews & Events
GTU News

John Templeton Foundation Awards GTU’s Center for Theology and the Natural Sciences Nearly Half-Million Dollar Grant to Advance Critical Research on “Virtuous Artificial Intelligence”

BERKELEY, CA – July 18, 2022 – The Graduate Theological Union (GTU) is pleased to announce that the John Templeton Foundation (JTF) has awarded the Center for Theology and the Natural Sciences (CTNS) a $445,000, three-year grant beginning in July 2022 to take forward critical research on Artificial Intelligence (AI) and its ethical implications. The project, titled “Virtuous AI? Artificial Intelligence, Cultural Evolution, and Virtue,” seeks to explore several core questions: How and to what extent will AI influence the evolution of human culture and virtue? Can AI assist humans in the...
The Center for Theology and the Natural Sciences (CTNS)AcademicsLife at GTUNews & EventsSupport the GTULibrary
GTU News

GTU Student Chosen for FASPE Ethics Fellowship

New York, NY — Sakinah Alhabshi, a student of Graduate Theological Union, is one of thirteen seminary students chosen for the 2022 seminary program of the Fellowships at Auschwitz for the Study of Professional Ethics (FASPE). Now in its twelfth year of operation, FASPE provides a unique historical lens to engage graduate students in professional schools as well as early-stage practitioners in six fields (business, journalism, law, design & technology, medicine, and seminary) in an intensive course of study focused on contemporary ethical issues in their professions. The FASPE seminary...
AcademicsLife at GTUNews & EventsSupport the GTULibraryThe Center for Islamic Studies (CIS)Interreligious Education and Pedagogy ProjectInterreligious Chaplaincy Program

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